- CATIS is issued by ACVREP and covers four domains: Assessment, Instruction, Configuration, Exploration.
- Total initial fees run $755: $140 eligibility review, $490 exam (up to 2 administrations), $125 initial certification.
- All three eligibility pathways require a 350-hour supervised internship with 280 hours of direct service.
- Exam scheduling requires a 30-calendar-day waiting period that restarts if you reschedule.
What Is CATIS?
CATIS stands for Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist for Individuals with Visual Impairments. It's a professional credential for practitioners who assess, teach, and configure assistive technology for people who are blind or have low vision. The certification confirms that a specialist can competently match a person with the right device or software, teach them to use it independently, and troubleshoot configuration issues as needs change.
This is a distinct, narrowly-defined credential in the vision rehabilitation field. If you've seen other acronyms that also read "CATIS" attached to unrelated industries, be careful - this article, and every fact in it, applies only to the assistive-technology-for-visual-impairment credential described above. For a deeper breakdown of the acronym itself, see CATIS Meaning and What Does CATIS Stand For?.
Who Issues the CATIS Credential?
The credential is administered by the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP). Registration happens through ACVREP together with Webassessor, and ACVREP coordinates approved proctoring arrangements and any examination accommodations a candidate needs. Interestingly, the issuer's own credential heading uses "Individuals with Visual Impairments," while its site navigation elsewhere references "People with Visual Impairments" - the same credential, just described with slightly different phrasing in different places on ACVREP's site.
If you want the full official-name breakdown and how ACVREP frames the credential, our companion piece CATIS Certification goes into more detail on the issuing body's structure.
The Four CATIS Domains
The current Body of Knowledge that governs the CATIS exam is organized into four domains. Every scored question on the exam maps back to one of these areas, so understanding what each domain actually tests - not just its name - is the foundation of any serious study plan.
Domain 1: Assessment
Covers how a specialist evaluates a client's functional vision, technology needs, environment, and goals before any device is recommended.
- Gathering and interpreting functional vision and technology-use information
- Identifying client goals and matching them to appropriate assistive technology categories
Domain 2: Instruction
Covers how a specialist teaches a client to use assistive technology effectively and builds independent skill over time.
- Sequencing lessons appropriately for the client's learning pace and prior experience
- Selecting instructional strategies suited to different devices and software
Domain 3: Configuration
Covers the technical setup, customization, and troubleshooting of assistive technology hardware and software.
- Adjusting settings (magnification, speech, contrast, braille output, etc.) to a client's specific needs
- Diagnosing and resolving common configuration problems
Domain 4: Exploration
Covers how a specialist keeps pace with emerging technology and helps clients discover and evaluate new tools.
- Researching and trialing new or updated assistive technology products
- Guiding clients through hands-on exploration of unfamiliar tools
For a domain-by-domain study breakdown with more granular topic lists, see CATIS Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas. If you're trying to gauge how much effort each domain will take relative to your background, How Hard Is the CATIS Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 walks through that in detail.
Eligibility Pathways and the Internship
Before you can sit for the exam, you have to qualify through one of three eligibility pathways:
- University Pathway: Completion of university preparation specifically in assistive technology for blindness/visual impairment.
- Education, Training, and Experience Pathway: A combination of education, technical training, and documented work experience. Category 2 requirements shift depending on the candidate's specific educational background.
- Comprehensive Technical Program Pathway: Completion of a comprehensive postsecondary technical program that meets ACVREP's requirements. Category 3 requires the program to run at least 1 year and requires 1,500 hours of direct work experience within the most recent 3 years; the supervised internship hours may count toward that 1,500-hour total.
When you submit your application, expect to provide pathway-specific education records, clinical-competency documentation, core-domain checklists, and employment verification. Because the paperwork requirements differ meaningfully by pathway, it's worth reading the full breakdown in CATIS Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify before you start assembling documents.
Registration, Fees, and Scheduling
Once eligibility is approved, registration for the exam itself runs through ACVREP and Webassessor. Here's the full initial cost breakdown:
| Fee | Amount | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility Review | $140 | Review of your application and pathway documentation |
| Examination Fee | $490 | Up to 2 administrations (one retake included) |
| Initial Certification Fee | $125 | Issuance of the credential after passing |
| Total | $755 | Before any optional preparation materials |
Note that the $490 examination fee already includes one retake, so a candidate who doesn't pass on the first try isn't necessarily paying for a brand-new exam fee - but they do need to work around ACVREP's scheduling rule: a 30-calendar-day waiting period applies before the exam can be scheduled, and that same 30-day clock restarts every time an exam is rescheduled. This makes early, deliberate scheduling far more important than it might seem. See CATIS Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling for how to plan around that waiting period, and CATIS Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown for the complete cost picture including renewal.
Key Takeaway
Budget the full $755 before you register, and treat the 30-day scheduling window as a hard planning constraint - rescheduling isn't a free do-over, it resets the clock.
Practice Materials vs. the Real Exam
ACVREP also sells an official practice examination separately for $65, containing 100 questions with a 3-hour time limit. It's important to keep in mind that these are the practice product's specifications, not the specifications of the actual certification exam - the two shouldn't be assumed to match. Understanding what a passing performance actually requires is covered in CATIS Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass, and if you want a data-driven look at outcomes, CATIS Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows is a useful companion read.
Who Hires CATIS-Certified Professionals?
CATIS-certified specialists typically work in settings that serve people who are blind or have low vision - vision rehabilitation agencies, schools and school districts with vision-impairment programs, state and community rehabilitation organizations, and technology-focused clinical or educational service providers. Because the credential specifically validates skills across Assessment, Instruction, Configuration, and Exploration, employers use it as a signal that a candidate can handle the full lifecycle of assistive technology service delivery - not just device setup, but ongoing instruction and needs reassessment.
If you're evaluating whether pursuing this credential fits your career goals, CATIS Jobs outlines the kinds of roles that typically list CATIS as a preferred or required qualification, and CATIS Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis discusses compensation considerations without relying on invented numbers. For a broader cost-versus-benefit view, Is the CATIS Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 weighs the investment against career outcomes.
Recertification and Continuing Education
CATIS certification isn't permanent - it operates on a 2-year renewal cycle. To renew, certificants need:
- 40 total recertification points accumulated during the cycle
- At least 10 of those points specifically in assistive-technology-related continuing education
- A $158 renewal fee paid at the time of recertification
Points are calculated using a simple conversion: one continuing-education contact hour equals 1 point, while one CEU equals 10 points. This means a handful of CEU-bearing courses can satisfy the bulk of the 40-point requirement, but the 10-point assistive-technology-specific minimum needs to be tracked separately since not every continuing-education activity counts toward it.
Building a CATIS-Specific Prep Timeline
Generic study techniques like spaced repetition or timed practice blocks only help if they're mapped onto the actual CATIS domain structure. A reasonable way to sequence preparation is to dedicate concentrated time to each of the four domains individually before moving into mixed review, rather than studying everything simultaneously.
Assessment Foundations
- Review functional vision evaluation concepts and client-goal identification frameworks
Instruction Strategies
- Study lesson sequencing and teaching methods across different assistive technology types
Configuration Skills
- Practice device and software setup scenarios, focusing on common troubleshooting patterns
Exploration & Mixed Review
- Review emerging technology concepts, then run mixed-domain practice questions
This sequencing matters because Configuration and Instruction questions often require you to already be comfortable with Assessment concepts - so studying domains out of order can create gaps. For a fully worked-out study plan with more detail on pacing, review CATIS Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. And when you're ready for quick-reference review in the final stretch before your exam date, CATIS Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts condenses the must-know facts into one page.
Whichever schedule you follow, running realistic timed practice questions on our practice test platform is one of the most direct ways to see how your domain knowledge holds up under exam conditions before you commit to an official test date.
Frequently Asked Questions
CATIS stands for Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist for Individuals with Visual Impairments, a credential issued by ACVREP for professionals who assess, teach, configure, and help clients explore assistive technology for blindness and low vision.
Four: Assessment, Instruction, Configuration, and Exploration. These make up the current official Body of Knowledge that the exam is built from.
Initial fees total $755: $140 for eligibility review, $490 for the examination (which covers up to two administrations, including one retake), and $125 for initial certification. This total does not include optional preparation materials.
Yes. There is a 30-calendar-day waiting period before scheduling, and rescheduling restarts that same 30-day period, so plan your registration timeline accordingly.
Yes. All three eligibility pathways require a 350-hour internship supervised by a CATIS-certified professional, including at least 280 hours of direct service. Any offsite supervision must be approved by ACVREP before the internship starts.